After 5 months offstage, the Grateful Dead chose this SNACK benefit concert, a high-profile hometown stadium show, as the occasion to make their triumphant return. They smeared away all expectations with an intense, aggressive, snarling half-hour of brand new, nameless, psychedelic material, churning out a historic Blues for Allah sandwich where every single note and idea adds to the ingenious madness, and dashes away any notions that these cats might’ve gotten rusty. The keyboard trifecta of Godchaux, Saunders, and Lagin contribute both darting musical corkscrews that push the jams furthur and ornamental support for the battering drummers to feed off of. Weir pastes clean, bright rhythm work against the ever-shifting foliage as a mobile adhesive, and Lesh rolls it all forward with silky targeted thunder. The true star, without question, is Jerry Garcia. That’s easy to say of course, and could be said of any concert at which the man played, but in this performance he is truly in classic form, shattering standards, blending and inventing genres out of thin air, and stealing faces en masse.

Blues for Allah has been out for decades now, but at the time, this crowd would’ve had no idea what hit them. Just listen to that reception after the Blues for Allah reprise - total hysteria, captured even through the SBD. Almost as comic relief, they serve up a cheerful and exciting Johnny B. Goode encore, as if to say “Yes, folks, we can still play rock & roll.”

The stealie must’ve been beaming proudly on 3/23/75. This is an exceptional, topshelf show with historical importance, a unique lineup, a one-of-a-kind setlist, and a special patch all to itself on the enormous tapestry of live Dead recordings.

8-13-75 rightfully gets the fame for being THE legendary 1975 show, but on this day the Dead were every bit as tight, high-energy, and ON. You don't realize it at first because they open with a way out-there Blues for Allah, but Stronger Than Dirt shows that they are firing on all cylinders. Merl is a great addition and I wish he were a bit higher in the mix.

This is Mickey's first full set back with the band, so the Drums is extra special.

The second half of Stronger Than Dirt is insane - each band member is playing very cool parts individually, and the sum of them is an awesome, otherworldly, and fully fleshed-out Grateful Dead jam.

I can't listen to the transition back to Blues for Allah and not smile. What a trip it must have been to see this live. It was their first performance since the "retirement shows" at the Winterland four months prior, shown in The Grateful Dead Movie. Nobody really know that they WOULD return, and then they do so by playing an entire set without singing a word! What a mind-f*ck - only the Dead would/could do that.

Almost a side note, but no less important: The Johnny B. Goode encore is great! It's a super energetic version, definitely unique and worth listening to.

If you are a big fan of 8-13-75 you will love this show. Soooo good.

It's interesting that fans didn't know for sure if the band had broken up or not. There were rumors that they were recording. Then they showed up, but for people waiting to see Santana and the Doobies (Dylan also made a surprise appearance, though he was barely mic'd). They'd been billed as Garcia & Friends, but then decided to give a live workout to the new piece as the Dead, still sans lyrics. Donna wasn't there but Saunders (the original "& Friends") and Lagin were, for a triple keys lineup. It's not much compared to the next couple workouts - particularly the show in August - but it's fun for the history buffs. The triple-keys are interesting in JBG, though there's not the usual Jer rip. It all sounds like what it is - woodshedding in front of thousands. Dylan had never done a show like this nor an FM simulcast. Baez got booed offstage and attendees favored Tower of Power. Lost Live Dead blogspot has the skinny.

SOURCES: The miller.110126 marks the first appearance of the true pre-FM. Blues for Allah is on the Beyond Description bonus disc but use the Miller. All FM sources were (still are) pegged and thumpy. Snack.18525 was the first widely available SBD but it's drier than the skankweed.13585 and miller, without improving clarity and instrument separation - though it does have the soundchecks and interviews. The kafer-boswell-smith has since been added but it's distorted and pitched slow.

Click large triangular button for endorphin propulsion.

what he brought was great. jerry a best this eve.

This is a very special set.. super high energy.. Jerry is in attack mode. Great continuous jam throughout with a killer Johnny B at the end. Thanks so much for the upload!

This is very special to heads abroad.

What a great, short show. One very unique jam over the course of the whole show. Very '75 sounding it really cool!

Like nothing else the Dead ever did. Everything from '75 (I guess 4 shows) is incredible but this one really is something special.

Thanks again to Charlie Miller.